Minimizing laser persistence on two-dimensional image sensors

ABSTRACT

Systems and methods for minimizing laser persistence are provided. In one implementation, a timing circuit for controlling a barcode reader is provided. The timing circuit comprises a shutter control circuit configured to control an electronic shutter function of an image sensor and a laser control circuit configured to control the activation of a reference laser. When activated, the reference laser directs a laser beam to an approximate position of a field of view of the image sensor. The activation of the reference laser includes a delay to minimize laser persistence on an image captured by the image sensor.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to two-dimensional barcode readers and more particularly relates to minimizing laser persistence on two-dimensional images.

BACKGROUND

Typical barcode readers or laser scanners utilize a laser that is scanned perpendicularly across a number of lines and spaces of a “one-dimensional” barcode. The laser radiation is reflected off the lines and spaces and can be sensed by a light sensor in order to read the barcode.

Further developments have led to two-dimensional imagers that are configured to sense two-dimensional codes, such as QR codes, which can contain a greater amount of coded data. Many two-dimensional imagers utilize charged-coupled device (CCD) sensors or complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) sensors for sensing the two-dimensional barcodes. The CCD and CMOS sensors are able to sense the codes without a laser acting as a light source.

Nevertheless, a laser may be used as a reference in some two-dimensional scanners, specifically handheld scanners, for showing the user where the image sensors are directed. Thus, when the reference laser beam is directed toward a barcode image to be scanned, the barcode will be in the field of view of the image sensors and can be scanned properly.

A problem with the use of a reference laser when using CMOS sensors is that many CMOS sensors being developed today do not typical use a mechanical shutter as is used in other types of image sensors. Instead, CMOS sensors may use an electronic shutter. Without a mechanical shutter, the reference laser beam can interfere with the sensed light patterns and therefore can lead to a misreading of the codes. Therefore, a need exists for providing systems and methods for minimizing the laser persistence in the images sensed by two-dimensional imagers.

SUMMARY

Accordingly, in one aspect, the present invention is directed to systems and methods for eliminating laser persistence in two-dimensional barcode readers. In one exemplary embodiment, a barcode reader comprises an image sensor having an array of pixels, the image sensor being configured to sense an image of a barcode. The barcode reader also comprises an electronic shutter configured to expose the array of pixels for a first period of time. An image processing device is configured to receive an image frame transferred from the image sensor. The barcode reader further includes a reference laser configured to indicate a position related to a field of view of the image sensor. A laser control circuit is configured to switch the reference laser off during at least the first period of time. The laser control circuit is further configured to switch the reference laser on after a first part of the image frame is transferred from the image sensor to the image processing device.

In another exemplary embodiment, a timing circuit for controlling a barcode reader is provided. The timing circuit comprises a shutter control circuit and a laser control circuit. The shutter control circuit is configured to control an electronic shutter function of an image sensor. The laser control circuit is configured to control the activation of a reference laser. The reference laser, when activated, directs a laser beam to a position within a field of view of the image sensor. Also, the activation of the reference laser includes a delay to minimize laser persistence on an image captured by the image sensor.

In yet another exemplary embodiment, a method for controlling an image sensor is provided. The method comprises the steps of electronically shuttering an array of pixels of an image sensor for a first predetermined time period to obtain a first image frame. The method also includes transferring a first part of the first image frame from the array of pixels to image processing circuitry. A reference laser is operated for a second predetermined time period after the first part of the first image frame has been transferred to the image processing circuitry.

The foregoing illustrative summary, as well as other exemplary objectives and/or advantages of the invention, and the manner in which the same are accomplished, are further explained within the following detailed description and its accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 schematically depicts a handheld barcode reader for reading two-dimensional barcodes according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 schematically depicts a graph showing the ideal timing characteristics of a CMOS sensor.

FIG. 3 schematically depicts a graph illustrating an inherent response of the CMOS sensor when activated according to the timing characteristics shown in FIG. 3.

FIG. 4 schematically depicts a block diagram showing an imaging device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 schematically depicts a graph showing the timing characteristics of the imaging device of FIG. 4 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present invention is directed to two-dimensional barcode readers or imaging sensors which are capable of detecting two-dimensional barcodes. As shown in FIG. 1, a handheld barcode reader 10 is illustrated for sensing a barcode, such as a two-dimensional barcode 12. The handheld barcode reader 10 may include any suitable shape, size, and design for enabling a user to direct the device toward the two-dimensional barcode 12 to obtain a reading. The handheld barcode reader 10 may include, among other things, a handle 14, a trigger 16, and a sensing window 18. In some embodiments, the trigger 16 may be omitted and the handheld barcode reader 10 may be configured to scan continually.

In operation, the sensing window 18 is directed toward the two-dimensional barcode 12 to scan the code and the trigger is activated (if present). The handheld barcode reader 10 may also include a reference laser (not shown) that emits a laser beam directed out of the sensing window 18 in the direction of the field of view of the image sensors within the housing of the handheld barcode reader 10. The laser beam emitted by the reference laser is utilized as a guide for the user to show the actual direction in which the device is pointed.

The handheld barcode reader 10 may include charge-coupled device (CCD) sensors and/or complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) sensors. Although CMOS sensors have been developed significantly over the years, some issues with CMOS sensors still remain. For example, it has been observed that many CMOS sensors continue to capture light images in between the regular exposure times dictated by the shutter controls of the sensor. Therefore, the global shutter controls used with conventional CMOS sensors do not completely prevent the CMOS pixels from sensing light when the shutter is “closed.”

The laser persistence is an issue inherent with CMOS sensors and may be caused by the absence of a mechanical shutter as is used in other types of image sensors. Instead, CMOS sensors may use an electronic shutter. A global shutter control for CMOS sensors includes the function of resetting all the pixels at one time and exposing all the pixels during an exposure time. One example of a CMOS sensor with a global shutter is the E2V Jade Gen 6 CMOS sensor.

When the light from the laser beam persists on the sensed image, this undesired light can interfere with the sensed light and dark patterns of the two-dimensional barcode image and therefore can lead to a misreading of the codes. One solution to preventing laser persistence is shown in FIG. 2, which is a graph illustrating an exposure timing signal 20 and a laser timing signal 22. In response to the exposure timing signal, the sensors are timed using an electronic shutter to sense (or cause to be exposed to) light for a short duration and then turn off and wait until the next shutter time. Many CMOS sensors are capable of sensing and processing 60 or more frames per second. In order to avoid the exposure of the laser beam on the image, the laser is turned off during the sensor exposure times. As shown in FIG. 2, the laser remains on at all times except when the electronic shutter is “open”. In this way, the laser can provide an aiming feature for the user, but is turned off for a short amount of time to avoid exposure on the sensors.

However, this ideal solution to avoiding the exposure of the CMOS sensors to the reference laser light does not completely eliminate the laser persistence in the sensed image. For example, FIG. 3 shows a graph of the inherent characteristics of CMOS sensors in response to the timing signals of FIG. 2. Although the ideal exposure time of the CMOS sensors is illustrated in FIG. 2, it has been determined that CMOS sensors realistically continue to sense light images after the electronic shutter is closed.

In FIG. 3, actual exposure characteristics 30 include the times that the sensors are actuated, as described with respect to FIG. 2, but also include a residual sensing time, depicted by the shaded portions 32 after the ideal square wave timing signal. The shaded portions 32 represent the inadvertent or persistent exposure times. It should also be noted that the laser timing signal 22 shows that the reference laser is timed to be turned on during these inadvertent exposure times 32. Therefore, the sensors capture not only the barcode image but will also inadvertently capture the image of the beam produced by the reference laser. As a result, the laser beam can overexpose portions of the image and create false signals, leading to incorrect reading of the barcode image. In order to improve the operation of CMOS sensors, further embodiments of the present invention provide systems and methods for creating timing characteristics of the reference laser to minimize the persistence of the laser beam on the scanned images.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating an embodiment of an imaging device 40. According to this embodiment, the imaging device 40 includes an image sensing matrix or pixel array 42, an analog to digital (A/D) converter 44, and processing circuitry 46. Also, the imaging device 40 includes a reference laser 48 and timing circuitry 50. The timing circuitry 50 includes a shutter control circuit 52 and a laser control circuit 54.

The pixel array 42 may include any number of pixels for capturing an image. In some embodiments, the pixel array 42 may include an array of 860×640 pixels, where each pixel is a 5.8 μm square. The shutter control circuit 52 provides a global shutter function to the pixel array 42 essentially enabling the pixels of the pixel array 42 to sense light at the same time. The shutter remains “open” for a certain period of time to enable the pixels to adequately sense the light.

When the shutter control circuit 52 “closes” the global shutter, the image obtained by the pixel array 42 is read off onto a number of A/D converters 44. The digital signals are then fed to the processing circuitry 46, where the image signals can be amplified, filtered, color adjusted, gamma corrected, etc. The timing circuitry 50 controls the A/D converters 44 and processing circuitry 46 to transfer the image data from the pixel array 42. When the image data is transferred out, the shutter control circuit 52 can reset the pixel array 42 to prepare for the next exposure time.

The laser control circuit 54 of the timing circuitry 50 is configured to control the reference laser 48 to turn off during the exposure times. Therefore, the laser light will not appear on the captured images. According to the present invention, the laser control circuit 54 is configured to delay the activation of the reference laser 48 until after the undesirable residual exposure time 32 shown in FIG. 3 is over. In other words, the reference laser 48 is switched on after a short delay to enable the pixel array 42 to be nearly completely reset. By reducing the laser persistence in the image, the barcode can be read with greater accuracy.

Also, by knowing the position of the laser relative to the images, the laser control circuit 54 waits until the transfer of the lines where the laser is expected to be. Then, the laser control circuit 54 can turn the laser on.

FIG. 5 is a graph showing an embodiment of the timing signals 20, 60, and 62 provided by the timing circuitry 50 shown in FIG. 4. The timing signals 20, 60, 62 control the on/off characteristics of the pixel array 42, reference laser 48, and transfer circuitry 44, 46, respectively, according to the teachings of the present disclosure. The CMOS sensors are configured to sense the two-dimensional barcode image during the “exposure” timing signal 20. The reference laser 48, according to the embodiments of the present invention, is configured to be powered on only during the periods of the laser timing signal 60, which occurs before the exposure time of the CMOS sensors. It should also be noted that the laser is powered on for only a short duration of the inadvertent exposure times 32 shown in FIG. 3 to minimize the laser persistence on the image.

Therefore, after a certain delay from the end of the exposure timing signal 20 of a previous cycle when the CMOS sensors are sensing, the laser is allowed to be turned on for a short amount of time, as represented by the laser timing signal 60. For example, the exposure timing signal 20 may be high (i.e., on) during a last (i.e., third or “3”) time period of a cycle as shown in FIG. 5 and then low (i.e., off) during the first and second times periods of the next cycle. A delay after the exposure timing signal 20 occurs at a first (“1”) time period of the cycle. Also, the laser timing signal 60 may be high (i.e., on) only during a middle (“2”) time period of the cycle. It should be noted that the first, second, and third time periods may have different lengths of time, as shown in FIG. 5, but in other embodiments, two or more of the time periods may be the same.

In addition, FIG. 5 shows the transfer timing signals 62 of the captured images for the CMOS sensor used in the present invention. An image frame is captured during each CMOS exposure time when the exposure timing signal 20 is high. A first part 64 of the image frame, representing an upper portion of the image, is transferred during a first part (i.e., part 1 of the cycle) of a transfer period according to the transfer timing signal 62. A second part 66 of the image frame, representing a lower portion of the image, is transferred during a second part (i.e., parts 2 and 3 of the cycle) of the transfer period. The combination of the first part 64 and second part 66 may represent the entire transfer process for a frame. Each transfer period may extend throughout the cycle. The transfer may be completed in the cycle at the end of the CMOS exposure time. Again, the CMOS device may be capable of capturing 60 or more frames per second and the exposure periods occur after the transferring and processing of each captured image.

As is illustrated in FIG. 5, the laser is turned on after the first part 64 of the image frame is transferred and during the transfer of a first portion of the second part 66 of the image frame. Since the laser persistence may affect an upper or central portion of the image frame, the illumination of the laser during the second part of the image transfer process prevents the inadvertent capture of the laser beam as the image is being transferred from the pixel array 42 to the image processing circuitry 44, 46.

Accordingly, the reference laser 48 will be turned on for only a short time for each frame capture. At 60 frames per second, the laser will flash on and off 60 times per second, but may appear to the human eye as a constant beam. Although the laser beam may appear constant, the beam will avoid the majority of the persistence issues described above with respect to conventional laser timing characteristics.

Again referring to FIG. 5, it should be noted that the timing signals 20, 60, 62 may repeat multiple times over multiple cycles, where each cycle includes the three time periods. The periods of time may include any suitable length of time (e.g., about 4-8 msec). The first time period includes the transfer of the first part 64 of the image frame from the pixels to the image processing circuitry. The second time period includes the illumination of the laser. The third time period includes the exposure of the CMOS pixels by the global shutter. In addition, the second and third time periods include the transfer of the second part 66 of the image frame from the pixels to the image processing circuitry.

Even if exposure is turned off, a small amount of the received light of the laser is able to modify the previously exposed image during the image transfer. This phenomenon is related to the shutter efficiency of CMOS sensors. Since the laser may be very powerful, the small amount of the received light may become visible in the image. As the most visible part of the laser may be in the center of the image, the timing circuitry 50 can be configured to wait until the center part of the image has been transferred before turning the laser on.

To supplement the present disclosure, this application incorporates entirely by reference the following commonly assigned patents, patent application publications, and patent applications:

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In the specification and/or figures, typical embodiments of the invention have been disclosed. The present invention is not limited to such exemplary embodiments. The use of the term “and/or” includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items. The figures are schematic representations and so are not necessarily drawn to scale. Unless otherwise noted, specific terms have been used in a generic and descriptive sense and not for purposes of limitation. 

The invention claimed is:
 1. A barcode reader comprising: an image sensor having an array of pixels, the image sensor configured to sense an image of a barcode; an electronic shutter configured to expose the array of pixels to capture a complete image frame; an image processing device configured to receive the complete image frame from the image sensor, the complete image frame being transferred from the image sensor in at least a first part and a second part; a reference laser configured to indicate an approximate position of a field of view of the image sensor; and a laser control circuit configured to switch the reference laser on and off; wherein the laser control circuit is configured to; switch the reference laser off while the first part of the image frame is transferred from the image sensor to the image processing device, and switch the reference laser on while the second part of the image frame is transferred from the image sensor to the image processing device.
 2. The barcode reader of claim 1, wherein the image sensor is a complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) sensor.
 3. The barcode reader of claim 1, wherein the electronic shutter is a global shutter.
 4. The barcode reader of claim 1, wherein the image processing device comprises at least one analog-to-digital converter and a processing circuit.
 5. The barcode reader of claim 1, wherein the electronic shutter and laser control circuit are part of a timing circuit configured to control timing characteristics of the image sensor and reference laser.
 6. The barcode reader of claim 1, wherein the laser control circuit is configured to begin activation of the reference laser at a time from about a midpoint of a frame transfer cycle to before an exposure time for a next frame.
 7. A timing circuit for controlling a barcode reader, the timing circuit comprising: a shutter control circuit configured to control an electronic shutter function of an image sensor; and a laser control circuit configured to control the activation of a reference laser; wherein the reference laser, when activated, directs a laser beam to an approximate position of a field of view of the image sensor; and wherein the laser control circuit deactivates the reference laser while a first data portion of a complete image frame is being transferred from the image sensor to image processing circuitry, and activates the reference laser while a second data portion of the complete image frame is being transferred, the first data portion and the second data portion together comprise the complete image frame.
 8. The timing circuit of claim 7, wherein the shutter control circuit is a global shutter controller.
 9. The timing circuit of claim 7, wherein the image sensor includes a pixel matrix having a plurality of charge coupled device (CCD) pixels or a plurality of complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) pixels.
 10. The timing circuit of claim 9, wherein the pixel matrix of the image sensor is configured to transfer image data to the image processing circuitry after the electronic shutter function shuts off the exposure of the image sensor.
 11. The timing circuit of claim 10, further comprising circuitry for controlling the image processing circuitry to receive the transferred image data from the image sensor.
 12. The timing circuit of claim 7, wherein the shutter control circuit is configured to expose the image sensor for less than approximately half of a frame transfer cycle.
 13. The timing circuit of claim 12, wherein the laser control circuit is configured to begin activation of the reference laser at a time ranging from a first time of a frame transfer cycle corresponding to transfer of the second data portion to a second time before an exposure time for a next image frame.
 14. The timing circuit of claim 13, wherein the exposure of the image sensor occurs during the second data portion of the frame transfer cycle of a previously exposed image and the activation of the reference laser occurs between the first data portion and the second data portion of the same frame cycle and the beginning of the exposure of the image sensor.
 15. A method for controlling an image sensor, the method comprising the steps of: electronically shuttering an array of pixels of an image sensor to obtain a complete image frame; transferring the complete image frame in at least a first part and a second part from the array of pixels to image processing circuitry; and activating a reference laser during transfer of the second part of the complete image frame from the array of pixels to the image processing circuitry; and deactivating the reference laser during transfer of the first part of the complete image frame from the array of pixels to the image processing circuitry.
 16. The method of claim 15, further comprising the step of continuing to transfer the second part of the first image frame while electronically shuttering the array of pixels to obtain a second image frame.
 17. The method of claim 15, wherein the step of electronically shuttering the array of pixels comprises performing a global shutter operation using a complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) image sensor. 